Catholic News
- Pope flies to remote Angolan city, visits nursing home (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV departed this morning (video) from Luanda, Angola’s capital and largest city, for Saurimo, a remote city of 400,000 in the eastern part of the nation. - Typical new US priest: 33-year-old cradle Catholic devoted to Rosary, Eucharistic adoration (CWN)
The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2026 is a 33-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a newly released survey of 334 of the 428 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted for the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and posted on the USCCB’s website. - May the Mother of the Heart make our hearts like hers, Pope says at Rosary in Angola (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV departed this afternoon from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola’s capital (video), and traveled by helicopter to the town of Muxima, where he arrived a half hour later (video). - Pope renews call for peace in Ukraine, Middle East (CWN)
At the conclusion of Sunday Mass today in Quilamba, Angola, Pope Leo XIV delivered a brief Regina Caeli address in Portuguese, the nation’s official language (video, 1:54:25). - Pope, at Mass in Angola, warns faithful against syncretism, encourages them to 'become like broken bread' (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Sunday Mass this morning in Angola (video). In his homily, he reminded the faithful that the risen Christ is with them in their suffering, warned them against syncretic practices, and called upon them to become like bread broken for others. - Seek truth and goodness, not consensus and appearances, Pope writes to young Italian professionals (Holy See Press Office (Italian))
In a message to a meeting of young professionals at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Pope Leo XIV wrote that “you are called to be present where ideas are formed and decisions concerning the destiny of peoples are directed.” “Yours is not only a path of excellence: it is a mission,” Pope Leo wrote to the Toniolo Young Professional Association, named after the lay economist Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo (1845-1918). “You are not asked to emerge, but to serve. Not to affirm yourselves, but to make fruitful what you have received.” “’May you disappear so that Christ may remain’: this maxim does not diminish, but frees,” Pope Leo added in his April 18 message. “It frees you from the search for consensus, to root you in the truth; it frees you from appearances, to consign you to the substance of good.” - Papal visit brought unity to both sides in Anglophone Crisis, leading Cameroon prelate says (Vatican News)
Referring to the Anglophone crisis, an ongoing armed conflict, the president of the Episcopal Conference of Cameroon said that Pope Leo is “the strongest unifying factor of those who are in conflict, because both sides respect him.” “Both sides are coming out to receive him, and both sides are ready to listen to his message,” said Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda. “This is a miracle. And, although you could not identify them, the crowd in Bamenda was too big not to have separatists in there, which means that they were also on the road cheering the Pope passing.” Archbishop Fuanya added: When the Pope comes to a place, it is an event. But really that event is not as important as the aftermath of the event. The Pope has given speeches and messages. We have all clapped. We are all happy. What next? That question is very important for all of us. I think that in the whole country, we have to sit down to digest all those messages. And secondly, we have to see what it takes to be able to implement them. - Myanmar's bishops express solidarity with Pope (Fides)
The bishops of Myanmar (map) expressed their solidarity with Pope Leo XIV following President Donald Trump’s social media post blasting Pope Leo. “We join our prayers with his [the Pope’s] and earnestly implore all nations, leaders, and peoples to lay down their weapons, open their hearts, and embark on the difficult but necessary path of dialogue and peace,” the bishops of the war-torn nation said in their statement. - Woman assaulted in Barcelona after stating she is a Christian (OIDAC Europe)
A man of North African origin called a 19-year-old woman in Barcelona a “Christian whore” and assaulted her after he asked her what her religion is and she replied that she is a Christian. “The victim sustained minor injuries and was assisted at the scene by emergency medical services,” according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe. “She did not require hospitalization.” The suspect was later arrested. - Cardinal Parolin, in papal message, writes that knowledge cannot be reduced to algorithms (Dicastery for Communication (Italian))
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, sent a message in the Holy Father’s name to the archbishop of Milan to mark the 102nd “Catholic University Day” at the Catholic University of Milan. Reflecting on the theme of the day—“the experience of knowledge”—Cardinal Parolin wrote that “the processes of knowledge cannot be reduced to the production of increasingly powerful algorithms, but, on the contrary, require an adequate level of human responsibility and ethical evaluation.” Cardinal Parolin also warned against the “many distortions caused by research aimed only at economic profit and objectives of dominance. Knowledge that is not oriented towards encounter and justice is at the root of many evils, as the troubled history in which we are immersed attests.” The message, dated April 12, was released on April 23. - Pope Leo departs from Cameroon, says his remarks there did not refer to President Trump (CWN)
Following a farewell ceremony at Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport (video), Pope Leo departed from Cameroon for Angola this afternoon. - Draw near to the suffering and the poor, as Jesus did, Pope preaches at final Cameroon Mass (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV traveled this morning from the nunciature in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital city, to Yaoundé Airport (video), where he celebrated an outdoor Mass (video) - Pope hails joy of Angola's people, denounces extractivism (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV arrived this afternoon in Angola, the third nation he is visiting during his apostolic journey to four African nations. - Kenya's bishops issue statement on political intolerance, threats to sanctity of life (Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops)
In a wide-ranging statement issued on April 16, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops warned against political intolerance and threats to the sanctity of life. The bishops also discussed health care, education, corruption, the defense of the institution of marriage, and voter registration. The East African nation of 55.8 million (map) is 80% Christian (24% Catholic), 11% Muslim, and 8% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015. - Societies flourish on the foundation of upright consciences that seek the truth, Pope tells university students (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV met with students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa (video) and told them that no society can “flourish unless it is grounded in upright consciences, formed in the truth.” - Justice Department report confirms selective prosecution of pro-life activists [News Analysis] (CWN)
The US Department of Justice has released a report confirming that during the Biden administration, federal prosecutors “weaponized” their enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinics (FACE) Act, aggressively pursuing pro-life activists while downplaying criminal offenses by abortion supporters. - Cuba's bishops defend Pope amid attacks (Conferencia de Obispos Católicos de Cuba)
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Cuba released a statement of support for Pope Leo. “At a time when the figure of the Pope has been the object of attacks and questioning, the Cuban bishops have wanted to publicly express their support and closeness,” the bishops’ conference stated. “In the midst of a world wounded by conflicts and wars, the Pope’s voice becomes a prophetic light that invites us to work for peace and to defend the poor and excluded.” - 'Bring the bread of life to your neighbors,' Pope preaches in Cameroon's largest city (CWN)
Pope Leo XIV traveled today from Cameroon’s capital city of Yaoundé (video) to its largest city, Douala (video), where he celebrated Mass in Japoma Stadium. - Vatican drops investigation of Spanish bishop accused of abuse (Crux)
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith closed its investigation into an abuse allegation against retired Bishop Rafael Zornoza Boy of Cádiz y Ceuta, Spain. A former seminarian alleged that the abuse began when he was 14 and continued for seven years. The dicastery reportedly closed its investigation “because it could not determine whether the victim was underage at the time of the alleged abuse,” Crux reported. Bishop Zornoza, 76, retired last November and has denied the allegation. - Religious Liberty Commission holds final hearing (Religion Clause)
The Religious Liberty Commission, established by President Donald Trump last year, held its seventh and final hearing. The “capstone hearing of President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission contained more powerful testimony and discussion about how people of religion are under assault by the secular left,” said Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the Commission’s chairman. “Next month, the Commission will deliver our recommendations to President Trump to ensure that Americans’ religious liberty is safeguarded against evil forces seeking to suppress them in our country.” Two bishops are commissioners: Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron. In addition, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, Bishop Thomas Paprocki, and Bishop Kevin Rhoades serve on the commission’s advisory board. - More...